I'll be right behind you
by Stargazing Writer
Summary: Kanan has been faced with the issue of self-sacrifice many times. The one time he lied to his apprentice, and the other he was lied to. The lie was the same one: "I'll be right behind you." [ONE-SHOT]


_Author's Note: Writing about season 1, cause why not? Also, I haven't read those stories about Kanan's backstory, but I know that one line that gave me the idea to write this one-shot. This is my guess on what happened in this scene from what I read on Wookiepedia.__Hope you like it ;-) _

Caleb looked at the holocron he was just given in awe. He felt it in his hands, and looked it over.

The young Jedi struggled to keep himself from opening it at once or asking his Master more about it. He looked up at Bilaba, curiosity written on his face.

"I know, you probably have a lot of questions about the holocron, but this is the reason I give it to you. So that you can study the role of questions and peaceful dissent of the Order. Alright?"

Caleb nodded. The clones who were sitting by, watched expectantly. Knowing the boy, he would be asking another question in a few moments. Surprisingly he didn't. He just worked on opening the holocron.

This seemed to please Bilaba. What leaded to choosing Caleb as her Padawan in the first place was his inquisitive nature, but even she had limits to her patience. The Jedi just smiled and turned around to look at the view.

She emerged herself in the Force and just felt everything and everyone around her. Caleb was the first one she felt, strong in the Force as he was. Then there were Gray, Styles and the other clones around the camp.

Bilaba also felt other Jedi across Kaller, their presences faint due to the distance, but they were surely there.

Suddenly she felt it. Where there were the steady signatures of the other Jedi in the Force, one by one, they were just gone in seconds. It felt awful, she could feel their horror and pain just for a moment before they vanished.

"Do you feel that?", the Jedi Master asked turning around, to face the others.

Caleb was staring at her, terror apparent on his features. It was obvious he had felt it too. What they both noticed next, scared them even more.

All of the clone troopers in the camp were gathered, their blasters raised and pointed at them.

Bilaba grabbed and ignited her lightsaber at once. Her Padawan followed suit, standing by her side.

"Commander Gray, what is going on?"

"Order 66 has been issued. All Jedi are traitors to the state and must be executed."

"Wha-"

She didn't make to complete her sentence as the clone opened fire, which she reflected at the nick of time.

That was just the beginning. All of the troopers attacked the Jedi. Master and apprentice worked together to avoid getting shot. It was obvious that they wouldn't hold out for long, being attack by all sides.

"Caleb, run!"

Caleb didn't hear her in the intensity of the moment and just kept deflecting the shots. Turning to look at his Master, he instantly froze.

He saw their former clone comrades get pierced and cut by her lightsaber. Kaylon, Remo and Mixx were lying limb on the ground, lightsaber traces on their armor. He had seen troopers die from enemy fire before, but never expected that they would fall from Jedi sabers.

"What's wrong with you? Go!", Bilaba shouted again and Caleb snapped out of it. He shook his head and returned to fighting. He refused to leave his Master though.

As two clones closed in to the boy, he moved his lightsaber warningly in front of them.

"Soot? Big-Mouth? Don't do that... Don't look at me that way...", Caleb pleaded, stepping backwards. Soot shot two blasts which the Padawan barely avoided.

"I don't want to do that, but you really leave me no choice!", he said again, with new found resolve. His former comrades trying to kill him like that, wasn't something he could forgive them. He force jumped above the clones and tried to get away as far as he could before facing them again.

When Soot and Big-Mouth opened fire on Caleb again, he deflected the shots. At first missing the first few, he got them and much to his dismay, had killed them.

"Surround them!", Gray shouted.

The remaining troopers did as they were told. They started blocking any exit for the Jedi.

Protecting her Padawan, Bilaba shouted at him.

"Caleb, we cannot win the battle... you _must_ run. Go. I'll be right behind you."

Caleb stared at her in disbelief. He began running. He would do as she asked, but he knew very well that when Bilaba said she would be right behind him, it was a lie. Bilaba had never lied to him before, and that was exactly what broke him.

The boy ran, further and further from the site of the battle, not looking back. Just as he reached the woods, Caleb stopped. What was he doing? His Master needed him and he was running away, like a coward. Igniting his lightsaber again, he made his way back.

Again he stopped dead in his tracks. A certain person got shot multiple times, and fell limb on the ground. When Caleb realised who that person was, he felt his heart stop and then shatter into millions of pieces.

It couldn't be. It just couldn't. Caleb felt his eyes well up with tears and stared at that the scene play in front of him. As the clones turned to his direction, he still didn't move.

His Master was dead.

Bilaba was dead and it was all his fault. If he didn't run, if he stayed with her... It was his fault.

'_You must run..._'

These words echoed in Caleb's mind again and again.

In meditations, at nights, at all times, Caleb would be hearing his Master's last words and see her. She was always there, to remind him of his mistake.

A speeder ran full speed through the central road, heading for the comm tower.

Explosions echoed through the air, and blasts lit up the night sky, upsetting the quietness of the landscape. The attack had began not long ago, starting with the assault of a single speeder, carrying large amounts of explosives and a intruder who secured one of the anti-air guns and blasted at the other gun and nearby troopers.

Kanan and Ezra quickly unmounted the latter's speeder, and escorted the droid, Chopper, into the comm tower, joined by Sabine.

Upon entering the tower, it was mess of panicking soldiers and blaring alarms. It was child's play to stun the troopers and deactivate the alarm, the hard part, just started.

While they let Chopper and Sabine do their job installing a date spike, it was up to Kanan and Ezra to defend the area from the incoming reinsforcements.

Said reinsforcements arrived sooner than expected. Imperial helicopters arrived, the stormtroopers in them firing at the rebels already.

"What? They're here? That's impossible.", Kanan mouthed, utterly surprised.

"Time's up!", Ezra informed his fellow Specters.

Feeling the presence of the Inquisitor, the Jedi knew they didn't have much time left.

"Sabine, we got targets incoming. Let's move!", he shouted over the comlink.

_"You said I'd get three minutes."_, the Mandalorian responded.

"Well, now you get one, so hurry up!"

Fighting any troopers coming close, Kanan decided it was time to gather.

"Go get Zeb.", he told to Ezra.

"I'm staying right here.", the boy insisted, refusing to leave his master.

"No, you're getting Zeb and then come back here. Now go!"

Ezra reluctantly obeyed running off. The Jedi then got his comlink.

"Spectre-1 to Phantom. We're gonna change our pick-up."

_"Not a good idea, Spectre-1"_, Hera said on the other side of the line.

"Plan's changing, just get your eyes on the sky. We'll meet you up there.", Kanan said, meaning the top of the tower.

_"Copy that."_

Just as Ezra came back with Zeb, Sabine informed them that they got a signal. That means the plan was near success. Now they just had to get out of here alive.

Sabine and Chopper were about the exit the building but Kanan stopped them.

"Not this way. Back inside."

"Are you crazy?", the Mandalorian objected.

"Take the lift. Hera will meet you on the top."

As he was about to get inside, something in Ezra's mind clicked. Earlier that day, his Master had tried to teach him that sometimes self-sacrifice was needed to achieve a greater goal. Kanan was...

Ezra stopped to ask him. "Wait. What about you?"

"I'll take the next one.", the man replied, igniting his lightsaber.

There was no next one, and the Padawan knew that. His suspicions confirmed, this time he wasn't going to leave him that easily. He wasn't going to lose his Master, not like that.

"Let's go.", Zeb motioned for the boy to come in.

Ezra didn't move from his position, his gaze fixed on Kanan.

Kanan sensed his concern and faced him – possibly for the last time.

"I'll be right behind you."

That was a lie. The same one he was told so many years ago. Now he understood why Bilaba did that. He understood it now.

It wasn't right and he knew it. But if it was for the safety of his crew, the safety of his _family_, then so be it.

Kanan closed the door of the tower, and destroyed the panel. If the Empire wanted to get the rebels, then they had to go through him first. The Jedi watched as the helicopter lowered to the ground for the Inquisitor to come down and prepared for the duel.

In the end, it would be all worth it.


End file.
